“Academic excellence stands at the center of a Spence education. Our students work with an outstanding faculty possessing high expectations of them and a firm understanding of the challenges and unique joys and opportunities of teaching in an all-girls environment.” —Michèle Krauthamer, Head of Upper School

Congratulations to Maiken Baird ’85, P’24, whose film won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Welcome

I invite you to explore The Spence School’s large and considered educational vista of opportunities for students in Grades K-12, which joins our students’ academic promise with exceptional teachers who have made a profound commitment to educating young minds. Our teachers’ goals are to meet students’ potential with a challenging curriculum that fuels their learning and their growth as scholars and human beings of the highest order.

There is great joy in being a K-12 school and developing a structured and fulfilling curriculum focused on the framework and lens of young girls and young women. Our all-girls’ environment puts importance on self-agency, couples high expectations with open possibilities of academic leadership and embodies what it means to share sisterhood and womanhood in defining our own education.

Ultimately, our charge is to prepare our students for the world ahead—ensuring that when they go beyond our Red Doors, they are ready for a vibrant citizenship with purpose, passion and perspective, and we welcome that challenge with open arms.

Bodie Brizendine, Head of School

We encourage you to read the Long Range Plan, “Teaching and Learning at Spence 2025: An Intellectual & Moral Adventure.” Spence’s vibrant canvas of teaching and learning is inspired by Clara Spence’s words, describing learning as an “intellectual and moral adventure.” This infuses our Long Range Plan and sets a strong foundation as we continue to design pedagogy and program to meet all essential ingredients for our students to thrive as engaged citizens in our diverse and changing world.